Fire Chief Zoraida Diaz

Fire Chief Zoraida Diaz joined the Fremont Fire Department in 2021 and was appointed as the City’s first female Fire Chief on April 7, 2023. During her tenure with the Fremont Fire Department, Chief Diaz has led developing and implementing incident action plans for civil unrest, public safety power shutoff events, the COVID-19 pandemic, and, most recently, unprecedented weather events. 

Chief Diaz’s additional accomplishments include developing Special Operations Task Force redeployment plans based on analytics and collaboration between labor management and operations staff, revising the Fire Department’s Operations Policy section, and helping a team of employees secure an Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Wellness and Fitness that established cancer and cardiac preventative health screenings.

Chief Diaz is also a current member of Cohort X of the Fire Service Executive Institute, a highly competitive program developed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs to provide new and aspiring executive leaders with the tools necessary for a successful tenure. Chief Diaz is also a volunteer instructor and graduate of the prestigious Executive Development Institute (EDI), a five-year program focused on preparing members of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters to become chief officers.

Chief Diaz previously served as the Department’s Deputy Chief of Operations. In this capacity, she was responsible for a variety of intricate, multifaceted work programs and created effective working relationships internally and externally that resulted in enhanced service delivery to the community.

Prior to working for the City of Fremont, Chief Diaz spent 18 years with the City of Oakland, where she grew her career in the fire service and was promoted through the ranks to Assistant Fire Chief. Before becoming a firefighter, Chief Diaz spent 15 years working as a social worker. Chief Diaz continues to be involved in mentoring and teaching at the local and national levels and is instrumental in the progression of recruitment initiatives.

Chief Diaz is proud of her Afro-Latina heritage and is bilingual in Spanish and English. Born and raised in New York City, Chief Diaz attended the State University of New York at Albany where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Spanish and a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling.